Revenge propels Irish to victory over Boilermakers in 2nd round
By JOE LICANDRO
Sports Writer
In sports, there is nothing sweeter than revenge.
On Oct. 4, Purdue stormed into South Bend like a blizzard and crushed Notre Dame 3-1. The physical Boiler-makers pushed and shoved the Irish around for 90 minutes.
To make matters worse, the Irish dropped their third straight game, seeing their record drop to a mediocre 7-6.
Even worse, at that point in the season, Notre Dame was in serious jeopardy of not even competing in the NCAA Tournament.
Oh, how the tides have turned.
After rebounding emphatically from the midseason loss to Purdue, the Irish found themselves staring the Boilermakers in the face again.
But the stakes of this game were higher. This time both teams put their seasons on the line for the right to advance to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
While most teams would want no part of a team that handed them their lunch a month ago, the Irish were ecstatic last Monday when they learned that they might face the Boilermakers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
On Friday night, Purdue squeaked out a victory over Northern Illinois in a game that went to a sudden death shootout.
Two hours later, the Notre Dame took care of business against Ohio State, beating the Buckeyes 3-1.
The Irish wishes had come true. The stage was set for a rematch.
"The motivation will certainly be there since they beat us," said Notre Dame head coach Randy Waldrum in anticipation of Sunday's rematch. "The kids are looking forward to it. It's been difficult to hold them back [in practice] and make them think only about Ohio State and not about Purdue. We know they have a good team. We know it will be a tough game. We feel that we weren't at full strength the first time we played them. Our team is going to be quite different this Sunday then what we put on the field last time."
Coach Waldrum wasn't lying.
For 90 minutes, the Irish out-hustled Purdue to every loose ball.
For 90 minutes, the Irish refused to allow Purdue's cheap shots and physical play to bring them down.
For 90 minutes, the Irish played with more confidence than they had all season.
For 90 minutes, Purdue looked like anything but the team that stomped the Irish a month ago.
Instead, Notre Dame intimated them from the opening minute of the game. When the final buzzer sounded, the Irish found themselves celebrating victory while the Boilermakers found themselves tasting the agony of defeat.
So what was the difference this time around? Two names — Melissa Tancredi and Ashley Dryer.
Tancredi missed the last game due to suspension, while Dryer was held out of action with an injury. The Boilermakers could not contend with Tancredi's tough, hard-nosed play. She completely shut down forwards Annette Kent and Jennie Moppert, who created all three of Purdue's goals the last time around. Tancredi, who converted to defense just a month ago, didn't forget how to score goals at her new position. Tancredi headed in Sunday's decisive third goal for the Irish with just under eight minutes left.
Dryer — along with fellow midfielders Randi Scheller and Mary Boland — controlled the game by winning loose balls in the midfield. Consequently, Purdue was never able to establish any offensive rhythm the entire game.
"Having Tancredi in gives you more speed, more strength, somebody who can physically match up with most anybody in the country," said Waldrum. "Then when you have Ashley Dryer, she kind of run the show for us at midfield. I think you can see from her play this weekend, how important she is to this team."
If anyone would have said a month ago, after their first match-up, that Notre Dame would defeat Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament a month later, I would have told you that J-Lo and Ben Affleck would have a better chance of getting engaged before that ever happens.
Was I ever so wrong? One month later, the Irish are on to the third round, and the most ridiculous couple in America is set to tie the knot.
All kidding aside, this Notre Dame team deserves a tremendous amount of credit for turning their season around. With the return of Tancredi and Dryer to the lineup coupled with the offensive resurgence of Amanda Guertin, the Irish have serious potential to do some damage in the NCAA Tournament.
Ain't revenge sweet?
"I think we were a little unlucky the last time we played Purdue. It's playoff time and we needed to step up," said Guertin. "Any time someone beats you, revenge is on your mind."
The opinions of this column are those of the author and not those of The Observer. Contact Joe Licandro at Licandro.1@nd.edu.
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 18, 2002
